Tony Abbott has signalled he intends to remain in parliament after his ousting as prime minister, but kept his options open as he came to terms with the “tumultuous” events.
Abbott has maintained a low profile after being rolled by Malcolm Turnbull on Monday, remaining out of the House of Representatives chamber and staying away from the cameras except for his final brief statement in the prime minister’s courtyard on Tuesday.
But Abbott told news.com.au on Wednesday afternoon he would need time to talk to his family to discuss his future in politics.
“It’s been a tumultuous week and I now intend to spend some time with my family to think about the future,” he said. “But my intention is to remain in the parliament.”
Abbott’s statement does not rule out the possibility of quitting parliament before, or at, the general election due in 2016. He been the MP for the Sydney seat of Warringah since 1994.
A new chamber seating plan places Abbott next to the Queensland Liberal National party backbencher Andrew Laming, although the former prime minister did not attend question time on Tuesday or Wednesday as Turnbull settled in to his new role.
In a media conference on Wednesday, Turnbull said he had “had a discussion with Tony Abbott but he hasn’t given me an indication” about his plans.
Both Abbott and Turnbull are understood to have received phone calls from the US president, Barack Obama, on Wednesday.
A ReachTel poll of 3,278 people on Tuesday evening confirmed deep dissatisfaction with Abbott’s performance as prime minister. More than half – 53.4% – rated his performance as poor or very poor, 18.8% said it was satisfactory, while the remaining 27.8% believed it was good or very good.
The results, broadcast by Seven News on Wednesday, showed voters were also deeply unhappy with the performance of the Labor leader, Bill Shorten, and indicated that Turnbull enjoyed a strong lead as preferred prime minister. The margin of error was 2%.
The environment minister, Greg Hunt, said he believed Abbott was “immensely decent” and would not undermine Turnbull.
“And in the same way that Bill Hayden allowed Bob Hawke clear air and to be a successful prime minister in his early years, and in the same way that Alexander Downer allowed John Howard clear air and supported him through four very successful terms, Tony Abbott is also going to allow Malcolm Turnbull a clear run,” Hunt told the ABC.
